Private Revelations

The presence of Lydia and her troops changed fairly little and a whole lot simultaneously. The Guild Hall was their least threatened position. Additional forces to fill out the lines and allow the outwards push to progress more smoothly were deeply welcome, however. Military modernization had been one of Lydia’s primary agendas, but also one on which she had needed to compromise.

Rex Germaniae did not have a clean separation of layers. Where Fusion had its regular soldiers and then cells of elites as rapid response forces, the European power operated according to a feudal structure.

Levies served knights, knights served barons, barons served dukes, dukes served princes and princes served Lydia. This pyramid structure created about a dozen units that each had practically every level of fighter in it, short of the super elites that Lydia represented. This military strategy had the weakness of sending an excess of forces at time, as the knights would refuse to send their levies out on their own, an issue that cascaded up the chain of command to a degree.

It also had plenty of benefits, however. To start with, having elites tied to foot soldiers assured that they knew how to work together, as opposed to Fusion’s more individualistic approach to war. Having these close-knit alliances empowered heroism and teamwork. There was also the issue of communication to be considered. Rex Germaniae was predominantly but not exclusively German. There were Dutch and Czechs in the mix and some of the dialects were quite heavy. Having them organized according to feudal allegiance kept language groups together.

It just made them a bit unwieldy in terms of precise allocation, especially since they technically had the right to refuse an order. Doing so would come with political consequences, but that was not nearly as severe as in Fusion. A general could be replaced, a duke was a duke no matter what Lydia thought. No one did refuse the orders given, but the option floated in the room.

After three hours, all of the primary forces of Rex Germaniae were moving – all but two. One was Lydia’s, whose royal guard, headed by the Knights of Teuton, remained with the monarch in the Guild Hall. The other was the Austrian army.

“Where even is Maximillian?” John asked, once they were in the isolation of his chambers.

Lydia did not answer immediately. She instead scanned over the gathered haremettes and their advancing state of undress. For understandable reasons, she must have thought their usual lewdities were on pause. While the women were giving one signal, John remained fully clothed. The queen followed his example.

“He journeys with Romulus. A bothersome but entirely expected showcase of prioritized loyalties,” Lydia responded.

“Makes enough sense.” Although Maximillian was his best male friend and Lydia was one of his women, between the two of them was its own web of relations. To start with, they were exes. Their breakup had been clean and none of the three of them ever lingered on that fact, but it was still a historical fact. Then there was their old rivalry over the crown, which had also faded. What hadn’t faded was the push and pull of Lydia being his liege and a reformist, while Maximillian was subordinate to her and Romulus and a traditionalist.

Maximillian may have wanted to tag with Lydia to talk to John as quickly as possible. Personal relationship aside, him travelling with Romulus was a clear signal that the queen was not considered the foremost power by the Austrian realm.

“Should I allow this kind of feudal power structure to even occur…?” he thought out loud.

“It has its own efficiencies, but it is a garden of titles. Leave it to grow on its own and it will become a rampant wild,” Lydia told him. “As much as I anticipate giving you tips on ruling as a monarch, I believe a primary question is mine to ask: who is the veiled woman?”

“A horny mushroom!” Rave threw in immediately.

Lydia gave the feline Lightbearer a most unimpressed stare. Expression unshifting, she then looked at John. “A feminized Lorylim, then?” she drawled.

“Believe it or not, for once that’s not my fault.”

“It rarely ever is your fault in full. Your actions compound the factors that reality lay upon you, however.”

That was true enough and John could only scratch the back of his head. “To give you the cliff notes version: fought the primordial Lorylim on the island, got infected by it, carried it around with me for a bit, decided to gamble on it being useful during the battle, offered it nutrients and genetic material – blood – and then it grew into a her and she calls herself Lyndell.”

“I see,” Lydia voiced her understanding. “Then the next question – you are still clothed because you wish to head out again?”

“Coincidentally to speak to her, yes,” John readily admitted. Not like there was anything secret about that. “I’m checking in on her daily. She’s been very cooperative, but she is also different.”

“Then I shall accompany you,” Lydia stated. “Absolving Momo from that duty for once.”

“I’ll also go see Magnus after I am done there. Want me to call you when I do, Lee?”

“Please do, yeah,” she confirmed.

It wasn’t the first time that the two of them had visited Magnus and Nina in the last few days. Magnus was John’s friend and his respect for Magoi had only grown after he had made the ultimate sacrifice. To be with his family in these times was only natural, especially when he had time to spare, of which there had been some the last two days. These meetings were just gatherings, less in memory of Magoi and Mabirl than they were checkups on how Magnus was doing. So far, he was doing well.

Both of the siblings expressed concern for the middle child, who was an ocean away without any family to lean on. She had her own friends and husband, so at least she wasn’t totally alone. Visiting her was a priority for Lee after the war.

However long that would take.

No one else wanted to tag along for the Lyndell visit, so John and Lydia walked on their own. “I can sense the rage in you,” she spoke, as they followed the corridor.

John did not answer for long enough that the corridor seemed to stretch. Among the manifold dimension-bending shenanigans of the Palace was a supernatural awareness of the building for when a walk was an excuse to talk. “I think you’ll understand better than anyone,” he muttered. “Lee is…”

“Not prone to negative emotions like this,” Lydia finished the sentence for him when he lingered on it for too long. “She has her doubts and her laziness. Rage is not her vice, especially not this kind.”

“The quiet, resentful anger at the entire world that we hold back, covered by our stoicism.”

The fully-armoured woman gave him an understanding nod. “It does fade with time,” she assured him. “Although I cannot say that it left until I had resolved the matter.”

John let out a held breath. “My resolution will be cleaner than yours, I hope.”

“Everything is cleaner than killing the remnants of one’s own father.”

They continued in unified silence for a while. “There’s another matter I should bring up. We have found the White Tiger – it is Fianna.”

Lydia beheld him with militant interest. “An interesting choice by the ancient spirit. I would have taken her as too weak to wield such a power.”

“She was. I had to use the Sylkarion to get her to that level.”

“Ah… a wise tactical decision, taken in isolation.” Lydia took three steps before continuing, “I shall not contemplate other matters until it is necessary and appropriate.”

“So, you do give me the benefit of the doubt,” John pointed out with half a smile.

“There are many decisions of yours that I would regard as hasty or poorly motivated, but none that I would call entirely unwise.” Lydia played with the haft of her weapon, one of many gifts of his she was currently adorned with. “Her status is to be kept a secret?”

“A tight-lipped one,” John confirmed. “You can ask Scarlett for more details later.”

“I shall. Anything else about the Lu Zhi situation that you did not wish publicly stated? I assume you are heading there right now, considering the absence of Undine.”

“You are considering correctly. I should get there in a few hours. After that, it’s just a matter of getting through the red tape…”

They turned a corner and were immediately presented with the door to Lyndell’s room. John took two quick steps to pull ahead of Lydia, then knocked, loudly, on the door. Usually, the walls would have masked any sounds from inside the rooms. Courtesy of the inhabitant, John had dispensed with that standard feature of his Palace.

There was the clear rustling of bedsheets, then the falls of naked feet. He half anticipated that Lyndell would be nude again. She had learned to avoid that social faux-pas, at least.

“Hello,” she greeted him first, then extended it to Lydia with a curt nod. The veil had been pulled back by her magical-biological mechanisms, leaving it as the typical black, translucent layer atop her white, messy hair. She turned around swiftly, the length of her skirt covering what John already knew to be a perfect example of an ass. Either she hadn’t worked out how attracted he was to backsides yet or she respected his boundaries. “Your visit breaks my loneliness, John. May I touch you?”

“So you have learned what loneliness is, then?”

“I have learned that there is an alternative to it.” Lyndell walked towards the table they usually had their talks at. Thin tendrils sprouted from her shoulder as she walked, writing runes into the air in grey light. They intensified for a brief second, then faded. In their absence the bed she had previously laid in made itself, hiding the mess she had left in it, stains, crumples and all.

“I still do not quite understand how that works,” John confessed.

“And you will not,” Lyndell told him. “I have reflected much on our differing natures. From what I have seen, humans project their mana outwardly, making it take shapes according to their will. My impulse, however, is the creation of runes that are the absence of mana. A vacuum that collapses, drawing the supernatural into the shape desired. Reality recovers after a rune was carved, limiting its strength and frequency.”

“You negotiate with reality, then?” John asked.

“It could be stated that way.”

“Fascinating… you use voids and negotiate with the very space around us… You wouldn’t happen to recall a connection to a dimension that is devoid of mana, would you? A different realm that is the source or manifestation of the anti-magic you used when we fought?”

Lyndell shook her head. “I knew how to do it and thus I did it in defence. May I touch you?” she reiterated the question.

“The usual ways,” John told her.

The ancient entity bowed over the table and grabbed his arm. To say that she liked his hands was an understatement at this point. It was one step below a philia, lacking the hallmarks of actual arousal. While her fingers explored the bumps of his knuckles, her grey eyes rested on Lydia. “You brought a new female.”

“Woman is the preferred term,” John reminded her.

“I prefer female.” Lyndell turned his hand around. Her trimmed nail scraped pleasantly over the ridges of his palm, reading them through tactile feedback alone. “My name is Lyndell.”

“Lydia Augusta the Fourth of House Hohenzollern,” she introduced herself in a harsh tone. “Queen of and Empress in Rex Germaniae.”

“I had assumed as much,” the primordial Lorylim answered. “I have read the documents provided to me. Your accomplishments are many. Your competence will aid our vengeance.” She let go of John’s hand and entirely focused on Lydia. “You are here to inspect me?”

“That is my intention,” the queen confirmed. “Your nature makes you untrustworthy.”

Lyndell’s already solemn expression dropped a little further. “So I understand,” she muttered, half-lidded eyes now focused on the tabletop. “Darkness is my oldest friend. Distrust does not offend me.”

Not a muscle in Lydia’s face moved. Straight as an iron rod, she remained motionless in her chair and just observed the reaction she was given. “It is my duty to distrust. Your appearance could be calculated to deceive. Your kind has demonstrated the ability to manipulate Observe.”

“Izha has this ability and Izha is not my kind – he is yours,” Lyndell responded, quiet and forlorn. “I have no kind. All that was me is now in this one body.”

Lydia continued to look at the woman for a while, then slightly relaxed. “I will not offer you my trust until this conflict has concluded,” she stated blatantly. “However, I will treat you as an ally.”

“That will suffice,” Lyndell answered.